SONGS:
-- North American Bastard Son --
(unreleased)

Lyrics:

I am the North American Bastard Son
Lookin' for a root
You know I'm findin' none
Restless and hungry with no sense of time
There was no room in the manger
For that mother of mine
But I can look in the miror
And tell you what's right
I hold my communion
With the angels at night
Let your cup run over
Till it sticks to your lip
'Cause I can change it forever
With just one little kiss

You talk about freedom
And you cry about hope
Your hands in your pockets
And your eyes on the pope
Well I search through this world
My face in the sun
No rest had the wicked man
So I guess I must be one

Though you don't like me
I've come here to stay
If you value your pride
Then get out of my way
And remember one thing
As you walk through the door
That I was born as a bastard
It's you that's the whore
Sometimes I'm down
And sometimes I'm high
Well I can't live forever
But I'll live till I die
Norwegians eat fish
And the Chinese eat rice
But 'round here you live on
Hot dogs and advice
Advice from your office building
Ten stories high
Well life is just something
To sell or to buy
You're as loose with your money
As you are with your thoughts
If I can't be persuaded
I can surely be bought
Like everything else
You were taught with your friends
The whole story's a lie
From beginning to end
Sometimes I'm down
And sometimes I'm high
Well I can't live forever
But I'll live till I die



  • Gavin's Woodpile quotes Tim Perlich of Now magazine:

    "While rooting around for previously unreleased Ugly Ducklings recordings to complete the forthcoming Ducktales cd package, Ducklings singer/songwriter Dave Bingham turned up a long-lost tape of a Sound Canada session the group cut in 1970 under the name Papa Grey. Among the material discovered on the eight-track cartridge in Oakville is a rockin' homage to the big rigs called Keep Truckin' and, perhaps even more intriguing, a song called North American Bastard Son, composed by an angry young folkie from Ottawa named Bruce Cockburn. The Ducklings, who shared bills at Yonge Street's old Electric Circus with Cockburn at the time, were impressed enough with the song they received as a demo in 1968 that they added it to their live set, then cut it two years later, but they never released the song. "
    -- Submitted by Rob Caldwell.

  • 5 October 2003:

    Lyrics finally put on site, thanks to Rob Caldwell who sent them in December 2002. :)


    Known comments by Bruce Cockburn about this song, by date:


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    This page is part of The Cockburn Project, a unique website that exists to document the work of Canadian singer-songwriter and musician Bruce Cockburn. The Project archives self-commentary by Cockburn on his songs and music, and supplements this core part of the website with news, tour dates, and other current information.